How Australians are unknowingly doing EIGHT WEEKS of unpaid work a year with a staggering $125 billion lost in wages to overtime - and young people are the WORST off Centre of Future Work found Australians working 6.13 unpaid hours a week Up from 5.25 unpaid hours a week in 2020 and 4.62 in 2019 The report found young Australians aged 18-29 are the worst effected Australians have lost $125 billion worth of income this year alone By Andrew Brown For Aap Published: 23:49 GMT, 16 November 2021 | Updated: 23:49 GMT, 16 November 2021 Viewcomments A new report by the Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work found the average employee worked 6.13 unpaid hours each week in 2021, or eight standard working weeks per year. That's compared to 5.25 hours per week in 2020 and 4.62 hours during 2019. The institute's report, released to coincide with Go Home on Time Day, found $125 billion was lost in income from Australian workers during the past year alone. Centre for Future Work economist Dan Nahum said the pandemic and related lockdowns were making the situation for unpaid work worse. Australians are working (stock image) more unpaid overtime than ever with about $125 billion lost in income according data from the Centre for Future Work 'In many cases, it's making it easier for employers to undercut Australian minimum standards around hours, overtime and penalty rates,' he said. 'We're seeing further incursion of work into people's personal time and their privacy.' Workers aged between 18 and 29 performed the most unpaid overtime in the past year, at an average of 8.17 hours per week. Part-time employees were working for free for 4.5 hours per week while casuals were doing unpaid overtime for more than five hours every week. During the pandemic, more than one-quarter of workers surveyed reported the employers' expectations of work availability increased. 'This year, Australian workers are taking home a smaller share of GDP than we have ever seen before,' Mr Nahum said. 'Yet time-theft is rife and bosses are stealing record amounts of unpaid time from workers.' Almost 40 per cent of employees reported their workplace was monitoring them through technology such as web cameras or keystroke counters while at home. Young workers (stock image) aged 18-29 were effected the most, averaging eight weeks a year worth of unpaid overtime With more people working from home following COVID-19, the report said the nature of employees working unpaid hours had also changed. 'Now we must consider whether home work will become the new normal for many workers, even after the acute phase of the pandemic finally passes,' the report found. 'Whether working from home or at a formal workplace, the problem of unpaid work continues to be severe.' Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility